Darelle Banks has been watching the New York Knicks since the 1990s. He remembers the heartbreaking playoff losses to the Pacers, Bulls, Spurs, and Rockets. Despite clinching a playoff spot 14 years in a row and appearing in the NBA Finals twice during that span, the Knicks couldn\u2019t get it done.<\/p>\n
Maybe, following New York\u2019s collapse Wednesday night against their nemesis Pacers in their first Conference Final appearance since 2000, some of those feelings were re-lived. But hours before Aaron Nesmith hit a trio of three-pointers and Tyrese Haliburton\u2019s game-tying buzzer beater helped Indiana erase the Knicks\u2019 nine-point lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter, hours before the Knicks came up short in a back-and-forth overtime, Banks was one of many longtime Knicks fans who felt that this year\u2019s team might just be good enough.
\n\u201cIn the \u201890s, you had the cloud of Michael Jordan over the city of New York,\u201d he said. \u201cIt felt like they just couldn\u2019t win. But now, there\u2019s a lot of hope. You can feel it walking down the street. Everybody\u2019s really excited about this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Banks had stopped following the Knicks as closely as the team from the 1990s disbanded and the club missed the playoffs in eight of the next nine seasons. But when his son, Dallas, recently started getting into basketball, Banks wanted to show him what it was like to be \u201ca real New York fan.\u201d
\nThe duo sat on the right side of Radio City Music Hall\u2019s first level on Wednesday for the Knicks\u2019 Game 1 watch party, Banks in an off-white \u201cNew York or Nowhere\u201d hoodie. They try to get to a few games every season. They flew to Detroit for the last regular season game against the Pistons. Last year, they went to Philadelphia for a playoff game. Banks said that the price of playoff tickets at Madison Square Garden \u2014 admission for Game 2 on Friday starts at $577 per ticket, according to Ticketmaster at the time of writing \u2014 partly drew him to the watch party, where tickets cost $10 each and the venue, which saw an estimated 5,000 for Game 1, was full of fans.
\n<\/p>\n
Andrew Royce, who strolled through the lobby before the game, similarly grew up watching the Knicks in the mid-to-late 1990s. His expectations were heavily influenced by the success of the New York teams during that period, he said. The Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994. The Yankees won the World Series four times in five years. The Knicks were similarly expected to win.
\nBut the Knicks\u2019 shortcomings of the past 25 years have made this run sweeter.
\n\u201cI took the \u201890s a bit for granted,\u201d said Royce. \u201cObviously went through all the tough and challenging years in the 2000s \u2026 To be here right now in Radio City Music Hall watching the Knicks play for a chance to be in the Finals, for me, it\u2019s a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same could be said for Omar Hegazy and Lanre Badmus, who stood nearby.
\nHegazy started watching the Knicks in the early-2010s, when \u201cKnickstape\u201d was trending and Carmelo Anthony and Amar\u2019e Stoudemire joined the team. That core managed one series win, before seven straight seasons without playoff basketball in Manhattan led to the foundation of the current Knicks\u2019 squad.
\n\u201cThis run is one of one,\u201d said Hegazy. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of great moments throughout my time as a Knicks fan, but nothing like this. This is the first time in my life as a Knicks fan where I feel like we have a shot to go all the way.\u201d
\n\u201cThere\u2019s nothing else for me to do but bask in the moment. I got to embrace it. I got to enjoy the run while I can. I never expected, growing up a Knicks fan, to ever be in a place like this.\u201d
\nBadmus became a Knicks fan in the summer of 2010 after the Stoudemire acquisition, despite casually watching the games growing up in New Jersey in the early-2000s. He said the current team is the best Knicks team he\u2019s seen.
\nLike most of the fans interviewed for this article, Badmus said the energy and passion for the Knicks around the city have made this run memorable.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s nothing like a New York Knicks playoff run,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The significance of a Conference Final appearance is not lost on the younger generation of fans.
\nArlo Zamorefrankel said her favorite memory of the season was when her family had people over to watch Game 6 of the Celtics series.
\n\u201cEverybody at my house went wild when they won,\u201d she said.
\nCharles Geller had a lot of confidence in the Knicks, and though Game 1 didn\u2019t end the way he predicted, he said the Knicks\u2019 series wins against the Celtics and the Pistons were his favorite memories of the season.
\n\u201cJust the joy everyone brings to the team, how everyone\u2019s inclusive,\u201d Geller said about the excitement around the city. \u201cNo one\u2019s going over the top, but no one\u2019s going just below. Everyone\u2019s doing great.\u201d<\/p>\n
The energy and passion around the New York City for the Knicks’ playoff run are undeniable. Fans of all ages are coming together to support their team, and the excitement is palpable. Whether they’re longtime fans who have been through the ups and downs of the team’s history or newer fans who are experiencing their first playoff run, everyone is united in their love for the Knicks.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the significance of the Knicks’ Conference Final appearance?
\nA: The Knicks’ Conference Final appearance is a significant milestone for the team, marking their first appearance in the conference finals since 2000.
\nQ: How much do playoff tickets at Madison Square Garden cost?
\nA: Admission for Game 2 on Friday starts at $577 per ticket, according to Ticketmaster at the time of writing.
\nQ: What is the atmosphere like at the Radio City Music Hall watch party?
\nA: The atmosphere at the Radio City Music Hall watch party is electric, with an estimated 5,000 fans in attendance and tickets costing $10 each.
\nQ: How do fans feel about the current team?
\nA: Fans are excited and hopeful about the current team, with many feeling that this is the best Knicks team they’ve seen in years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to the Knicks’ Playoff Run Darelle Banks has been watching the New York Knicks since the 1990s. He remembers the heartbreaking playoff losses to the Pacers, Bulls, Spurs, and Rockets. Despite clinching a playoff spot 14 years in a row and appearing in the NBA Finals twice during that span, the Knicks couldn\u2019t get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/www.amny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-23-at-4.47.43%E2%80%AFPM.jpg?quality=51&w=384&w=384&resize=384,286&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18084,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18082\/revisions\/18084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}